The Mushiori Psychics
by Deus X Machina
Summary: The story of Kido, Yana, Kaitou, and the other psychics of Mushiori City in the month before Chapter Black, aka the Sensui arc.
1. Glasses

Hi! I'm Deus X Machina with my first Yu Yu Hakusho fanfiction.

Of course, I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

**XXXXX**

Beaten again.

Yuu Kaitou looked at his name on the board with the number two above it. 'Number two,' he thought. 'I'll always be second to that bastard.' He watched as the red-haired Shuichi Minamino glanced at his name in the scoreboard's number one spot and walked off with hardly a second thought. Kaitou gritted his teeth.

It wasn't being beaten that bothered him. It was being beaten by someone like Shuichi Minamino. Brains_ and_ popularity? It wasn't right for someone to be so perfect. 'I'll beat you someday, Minamino. Someday I'll prove that you're not perfect.'

It seemed that everywhere Kaitou looked, intelligence was ground into the dirt while imbeciles ruled the world by good looks or brute strength. These people became gods who could force anyone to do anything. Kaitou was disgusted at a world controlled by these barbarians. Like the three cretins who were approaching him now.

"Hey, Kaitou," said Seichi, the leader of the trio.

"Hello, Seichi," said Kaitou. He sounded bored, annoyed at being interrupted by such lowly beings.

"Watch your tone with us, Yuu," said Jiro, the second of Seichi's group.

"Uh, yeah!" said Kenji.

"Uh, yeah," Kaitou said, mocking Kenji unenthusiastically.

"We're pretty sick of you, you know that?" said Seichi.

"The feeling is mutual," said Kaitou.

"Mutual?" said Kenji. "Don't go confusing us with big words!"

Somewhere in Jiro's brain, one electron hit another and suddenly he had one of those things that people called "ideas". He reached out and snatched away Kaitou's glasses. "Keep away!"

Jiro threw the glasses to Seichi, who dropped them on the ground and started kicking them across the floor to Kenji. Kaitou crawled to retrieve his glasses, but just before he could reach them, Kenji kicked them back to Jiro.

This game of keep-away was more humiliating than normal, forcing the once dignified Kaitou to scurry like a bug from one point to another, chasing his glasses. During this, the frame was bent and the lenses were scratched. Other students passing through the hallway stopped to watch and laugh.

"I'm surprised we didn't think of this sooner," laughed Seichi.

"I'm not," said Kaitou.

"What?"

"I'm not surprised you didn't think to attack my glasses, even if they were such obvious targets."

"Hey," grunted Jiro. "I-I think we've just been insulted."

"Gee, you think?" said Kaitou.

Seichi gave the glasses one final kick to a spot far from all three bullies. Kaitou crawled towards them, thinking that his torment was finally over. But just before he could get his glasses back, Seichi leaped into the air and stomped on them. He looked back at his victim. Kaitou's mouth was hanging open, his beady eyes round with shock.

"You've been givin' us a lotta crap, Kaitou. This is payback." Seichi and his gang walked away laughing.

**XXXXX**

Asato Kido and Mitsunari "Yana" Yanagisawa were waiting for Kaitou at the gate of Meiou School. Kido glanced at his watch. "Where is he?"

"Maybe he got a detention," said Yana.

"Idiot. Guys like Kaitou don't get detention. Look, there he is now."

Yana looked at his normally bespectacled friend. "Hey, Kaitou. Where're your glasses?"

"Broken," Kaitou said simply.

"How?"

"Some bastards broke them."

"Where are they?" Kido said angrily. "I'll kick all their asses."

"No, Kido," said Kaitou. "I don't want anyone fighting my fights for me."

"No offense, but I doubt that you can fight just one of these guys," said Kido.

"Believe it or not, Kido, there are kinds of strength besides brute force." Kaitou's tone became bitter. "The real world is run by the intelligent. In the real world, guys like them can either shut up or fall. And when we get to the real world, I swear I'll make their lives miserable."

As the three friends walked towards the arcade, Yana whispered to Kido, "I hate it when he gets all twisted and evil like that."

**XXXXX**

Kido, Kaitou, and Yana sat at the game consoles, fighting their way through Goblin City. "C'mon, high score! Almost there- Damn!" Kido swore as the screen read "Game Over. Would you like to play again?"

"Too bad, Kido," said Yana. "Almost got it that time."

"If you had gotten those three sevens at the top of the screen, you would have won," said Kaitou.

"Aw, whatever. Got any more tokens?"

"Hey, Kido!" shouted an unfriendly and familiar voice.

Kido turned. "Seichi and his boys."

"And Kaitou too," said Seichi. "I didn't know you two were together."

Kido ignored the remark. "So, what brings you low-lifes out here?"

"We came to play games, of course, but since you're here, we might as well settle the score with you."

"Hey, Kaitou," Yana asked. "Are these the guys that broke your glasses?"

Kaitou looked away. "Yeah." The three bullies laughed at his embarrassment.

"Well, then. I'll beat them up for the both of us," Kido said with a smirk.

"I told you, Kido. Don't fight my battles for me," said Kaitou.

Kido turned towards his friend with a small smile. "Hey, man. When you get to the real world, where you geniuses rule, I know you can throw them into the gutter and keep 'em there. But until then, let me handle these guys."

The other guests at the arcade stopped playing and moved to the side, eager to watch the four boys brawl. Kido started the fight, landing a solid blow on Seichi.

Seichi swung at Kido, but spoke to Kaitou. "It must suck, having to hide behind tough friends. You're too much of a wimp to fight me. You'd rather risk Kido getting hurt, huh?"

"Shut up!" said Kido, belting him in the stomach.

Seichi kicked Kido in the chest. "I know how much of a pussy you are Kaitou. You can't give us any more crap. You know why?"

Kaitou's stomach clenched. 'Don't mention my glasses,' Kaitou thought. 'Whatever you do, don't you dare talk about my glasses.'

"It's because I broke your precious **glasses**." The last word seemed to echo in Kaitou's ears.

Suddenly Seichi stiffened. "Hey, Seichi," said Jiro. "You having a heart attack?"

A brilliant aura of light enveloped his body. It concentrated into an orb of dark yellow light that hovered over Seichi's now petrified body.

Everyone paused, staring silently at the boy turned to stone and the strange light hovering over it. It started with one screaming girl running out the door. She was soon followed by a stampede of panicking gamers, trampling Seichi's body as they ran.

**XXXXX**

Well, there's the first chapter. Hope you liked it. Don't forget to review.


	2. Shadows and Clones

I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho (what's the point of these disclaimers anyways?)

Kido, in his t-shirt and boxers, climbed into bed but couldn't sleep. And it wasn't because his father wasn't back from whichever bar he was at; that was nothing out of the ordinary. And it wasn't at all strange for him to be home alone. Obviously, he was still wondering about what had happened to Seichi. What had turned him to stone? And what was that ball of light?

Yana, Kido, and Kaitou had left the arcade in silence. All three knew that what happened to Seichi had been Kaitou's doing, even if it was accidental. Kido had wanted to say something to help his friend, but what could he have said when he didn't understand what had happened? The best he could do was walk Kaitou home and give him a reassuring clap on the shoulder.

Kido shot up, startled, as he heard the crash of breaking glass outside his bedroom. Forcing himself to stay calm, he grabbed his cell phone and ran towards the bathroom, the nearest room that could be locked. He ran for the hallway, using the darkness as cover. If there was one thing that Kido was good at, it was concealing himself in the shadows. It was how he fought the punks that were out for his blood.

"I know someone's in here," said the man who'd broken in. "I can't see you, but I can smell you."

Kido ran into the bathroom and locked the door. He flipped open the phone and turned it on.

Suddenly, a large muscular man reduced the bathroom door to splinters. "Heheh. There you are." The big man snatched the phone from Kido's hand and crushed it. Kido stared up at him, his mouth open in shock.

"Come on," said the man. "I won't hurt you if you're useful. Now, come sit with me in the living room." He hefted Kido by the neckline of his shirt and tossed him onto a couch.

The man flipped on the lights and sat across from him. "Name's Goki," he said. "And you're Mr. Kido, correct?"

'No use lying,' thought Kido. He nodded.

"I was near the arcade today," said Goki, "and I sensed something happening. You and your two friends were the only ones I sensed with particularly high energy. One of you stripped that boy of his soul. Was it you?"

"W-what are you talking about?"

"That ball of colored light," said Goki. "It was a human soul, and a particularly tasty one at that. You see, I'm a Kyuukonki, a soul-eating ogre, and I want the boy that stripped away that kid's soul. You know why? Because if I don't have the soul stripped away, I have to eat it along with the person's body." Kido gasped in revulsion. Goki ignored it.

"It's an inconvenience," Goki continued. "Like gristle on a piece of steak. I used to have an artifact that could remove the soul for me, but it's locked away somewhere secure and I don't think my former partners would be willing to help me."

"You're nuts!" Kido shot at the man, regaining some of his courage.

"Don't speak to me like that!" Goki roared. "Now tell me, are you the one who took away that boy's soul?"

"No!" said Kido. "And even if I were, I would never help a monster to kill humans."

"Then you're useless to me!" Suddenly, Goki stood towering over Kido and casting him in shadow as he transformed. A main of hair bristled out of his head, and bony horns formed on his forehead. "Dinnertime!"

Kido shut his eyes, waiting for the fangs to close around his body.

They never came.

Kido looked up and saw Goki in the exact same position as before, arms in the air and a confused look on his face. "I can't move! What the hell did you do, Kido?"

He couldn't move. Kido made a dash for the door, but as soon as he moved, Goki was freed from his paralysis and grabbed at him. But as Goki blocked out the light hanging from the ceiling, he froze again.

Kido wasn't going to pass up this chance. He reached up and grabbed Goki's nose and mouth, ignoring his muffled cries of "No, no!"

"I'm a Kyuukonki!" Goki begged. "I have to eat human souls. It's how I was made. I can't help it! Please, Kido!"

"I don't care what you are," Kido answered. "Humans gotta fight for humans."

Kido kept his stranglehold on Goki's face for many long minutes before the ogre finally stopped struggling. After waiting to be sure the creature was dead, Kido backed away but realized that the dead body was still held rigidly in the same position. When Kido finally moved off to the side, the ogre's corpse crumpled onto the ground.

"His shadow," whispered Kido. "He can't move if I'm touching his shadow."

**XXXXX**

RIIIIINNNGGG!

Mitsunari Yanagisawa awoke reluctantly. He heard the door to his father's bedroom open. "Damn phone company should just stop service at this time of night," Yana's father grumbled.

Yana's father, Ichiro, grumbled on the cordless phone for a moment before bringing it to his son. "Mitsunari, it's Asato Kido. He says he has an emergency or something. Hang up when you're done." Yana's father left the phone with his son and went back to sleep.

"Kido?"

"Yana, you're not going to believe this," said Kido breathlessly.

"After what happened today, I'll believe almost anything."

"I know what Kaitou did. That ball of light was a human soul."

"Are you serious?" Yana asked.

Kido quickly related his meeting with the creature Goki and learning about his and Kaitou's powers.

"So there's a dead ogre in the middle of your living room right now?" asked Yana.

"Yeah. I'm getting the hell out of here. I know a motel I can stay at."

"What should we tell Kaitou?"

"We'll need to talk about that later but I doubt he'd be too unhappy about removing Seichi's soul." Kido paused. "One more thing. Goki said that the three of us had unusually high energy. If Kaitou and I have new powers, then you probably do too."

"What should I do about it?"

"I don't know, Yana. I don't fuckin' know. I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, see ya."

Yana turned off the phone and returned it to its charger. On the way back to his room, he heard quiet sobbing coming through his mother's door. For the past few weeks, Yana's mother, Naoko, had been sleeping in a room separate from Ichiro. She insisted on the room, saying it was safer. When asked what the room was safer from, her only response was "Them."

Yana inched open the door. "Mom?" he whispered. "Are you okay?"

"Close the door!"

Yana shut the door behind him. Naoko sat up in bed. "Who are you?" she asked.

Yana felt a pang in his heart. "I'm Mitsunari," he said for the trillionth time. "I'm your son."

Naoko let out a sudden gasp. "They're coming back!" Her sobs got stronger. "They're coming back."

"Who?" Yana asked in frustration. "Who are they? What are they?" Yana finished in a near shout.

"Everything in the world has little cracks in it. They crawl through those cracks in the wall even though this wall is safer than the other one. Sometimes they crawl on my bed and across my face. I try to lie still because if they know I'm awake…" She broke down into another round of sobbing.

"Mom," said Yana, "There's nothing here but you and me!"

"I wish you could see the things I can see."

'So do I,' thought Yana.

"They're in the house. Go away!" She waved her arm at her son, telling him to leave. Yana grabbed her hand, trying to reassure her.

A sudden jolt of energy shot through Yana's body. His body began to shift and squirm, breaking and making bonds. Yana doubled over, scared and nauseous. He shut his eyes, waiting for the sensation to stop.

When the strange feeling subsided, Yana opened his eyes. He fought not to scream as the terrible, unearthly things slithered and crawled into his mother's bedroom. They climbed all over his mother's shivering body. He could not see them, but he could sense them.

Not hesitating, he grabbed his mother's limp body and dragged her out of her room. "Help! Help!"

Ichiro barged out of his room. "What's going on?"

"Dad!" shouted Yana. "Help! Those things are in her bedroom!" All Ichiro did was stare blankly at his son and wife.

"Dad!"

"What…what is this?" Ichiro stammered.

"What?"

Not knowing what to do, Ichiro ran back into his room and locked the door.

Yana glanced down at his mother. As he saw his own body, he thought, "What is this? What happened to my body?" Setting his mother down on the floor, he ran into the bathroom and looked into the mirror.

Staring back at him was the frightened face of his own mother.


	3. Taboo Words

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER! SCHOOL'S OUT FOREVER! (I wish).

Now that summer's started, I can spend more time on my fics. I might even finish one!

I DO own Yu Yu Hakusho. A pixie fluttered into my room and gave me all the papers. Oh, and that's sarcasm, so don't sue me.

**XXXXX**

'I am never going to get any sleep tonight,' thought Kido as some asshole pounded on his motel room door.

"Kido! Wake the hell up you lazy bastard!" shouted a woman's voice.

"Who the hell is she?" Kido muttered to himself. With some effort, he climbed out of bed and threw open the door. "Mrs. Yanagisawa?" he said in surprise.

"It's me, Asato," said Mrs. Yanagisawa. She looked scared enough to wet her pants. In fact, she had.

"I know who you are, Mrs. Yanagisawa. What are doing here?"

Mrs. Yanagisawa's face screwed up in anger. "I'm Mitsunari, you man!"

Kido stared at the woman. "You've discovered your power, huh?" Yana nodded.

Kido let out an exasperated sigh as he let his friend in. He was right; no sleeping tonight.

Yana sat on a bed while Kido took a chair. After long moments of silence, Yana in Naoko form related what had happened at his house.

"My father panicked and ran to get his rifle," said Yana. "I'm lucky I got out without being hurt."

"What were these things that only your mother could see?"

"Frightening things. Evil creatures that want to destroy humans more than anything," said Yana. "At least, that's what my mom believes."

"How do you know?"

Yana put a hand to his forehead. "When I transformed into my mother, I didn't just get her body. I got her memories, too. But they're all jumbled up and chaotic."

"Try and get some rest," said Kido. "But can you change back into your regular body?"

"I'll try." Yana shut his eyes and grunted, trying to recapture the grinding, shifting feeling he had felt when he first transformed. He thought of his mother's face twisting into the face of a young boy with tall purple hair and lazy eyes. Nothing happened. Yana sighed in resignation. He was stuck in his mother's body.

"I'm tired," he said. "Let's try and sleep."

"You're right," said Kido. "We'll get Kaitou over here and figure this out in the morning."

Yana slumped down in a bed, Kido taking the one next to him.

The blond boy tried to lighten the mood. "Your mother and I alone in a motel room. I often thought about this."

"Shut up, Kido."

**XXXXX**

Yana reluctantly stirred from his sleep. After a few seconds of lying there, he felt, with a great sense of relief, the familiar push of his tall, cylindrical hair against the headboard of the bed.

"…human soul," Yana heard Kido whisper into the phone. Kaitou, who Yana figured was on the other end of the line, said something. "I don't care if it's a school day!" said Kido. "What do you think is more important, these powers or your perfect attendance record? All right, see you later."

Kido turned to his purple-haired friend. "You're back to normal," he said with a small smile.

"I guess the transformation wears off when I go to sleep. You told Kaitou about Seichi's soul?"

"Yeah. He didn't seem too upset about it. He must've really hated that guy."

"Not as much as he hates that Shuichi guy." Both boys chuckled.

Kaitou soon arrived by bus. "You'd better have a good reason for calling me here. I was feeling quite confident about the test today and I'm almost certain I could have beaten Minamino."

"Forget it, Kaitou," said Kido. "Have you learned anything about your power?"

"Yes," said Kaitou. "In fact, I've been experimenting. On a stray cat," Kaitou amended quickly, seeing the surprise on his friends' faces.

"You see, I quickly realized that I couldn't strip souls from bodies whenever I desired," said Kaitou, "so I considered the differences between a normal situation and the situation with Seichi. I first hypothesized that my ability only worked on fighters, but if that were true, I would have stripped away Kido's soul as well. So I realized that there was something unique about Seichi himself, something in relation to me. This led me to my second hypothesis, that my powers only worked against my personal enemies. But that couldn't be true as Jiro and Kenji didn't lose their souls."

"Then what was the reason?" Yana asked impatiently.

"I remembered that Seichi was the only one speaking to me when it happened. He lost his soul right when he said 'glasses', the very word that I was hoping he wouldn't say. I realized that he lost his soul because he said a word I didn't want him to say. I caught a stray cat and forbid the 'meow' sound. Sure enough, it lost its soul." Kaitou saw the disapproving looks from his friends. "I returned its soul, don't worry. In fact, I performed the test several times without harming it."

"You know how to return a soul?" asked Kido.

"When you strip out a soul," said Kaitou, "it's easy to put it back in. I don't know how to explain it (a phrase Kaitou had never said before). It's like playing a video game and finding a key. You intuitively know that this key fits that lock. That's how it feels.

"What's more," Kaitou continued, "I'm starting to sense that this rule about taboo words only affects people within a certain area of space that I create around me." His face took on a wicked smile. "It's a world where one needs intelligence to survive, one where those relying on brute force are weeded out."

"Does that mean that you're also bound by your own rule?" asked Kido. Kaitou only shrugged.

"Well," said Kido. "What are we going to do? What I want to know is how we got these powers. They could be dangerous."

"There is someone who can help us," Yana spoke up suddenly. "An old psychic named Genkai. She's very powerful."

"How do you know about her?" asked Kido.

"My mother's memories," said Yana. "I can't make much sense out of it, but my mom trained with Genkai for a while but left before she was supposed to. The memories are too fucked up to make much sense."

"You think you could find this Genkai?"

"I think so, if she's still living in the same place."

"Good, we'll go find her tomorrow."

Kaitou only listened to his friends half-heartedly. His mind was still pondering Kido's question. What would happen if he broke his own rule?


	4. The Empath

Thank you to all my reviewers. Your support keeps me writing!

To bahamut9999: I'm not planning to put Sensui's Seven in this fic, just the thirty psychics who trained with Genkai. If I do write about the Seven, it'll be in a separate fic. Sorry:)

**XXXXX**

Kaitou dropped the bag of books onto his desk. The books were filled with word games. However, these weren't the childish word-scrambling games that pre-school teachers handed out to their students. These were puzzles that were impossible to the person of average intelligence, puzzles that only someone like Kaitou could solve.

'Or Shuichi Minamino,' Kaitou thought jealously. Spurred by yet another burst of resentment, Kaitou sat down and poured over his puzzles late into the night, analyzing each one and trying to see how it could be used for his new ability.

"Yuu?" Mrs. Kaitou knocked on her son's door.

"Yes, mother?"

"You should go to sleep soon. Tomorrow's a school day."

Kaitou, being a fairly obedient son, changed into his pajamas, put his new glasses onto his nightstand, and crawled into bed but he did not sleep. He wanted so badly to defeat Shuichi Minamino in this strange game of taboo words. But he could not keep from wondering if he was subject to his own rule. If he was, then Taboo, as he had come to call his ability, would be a fair game and he would be proud to beat Shuichi Minamino at it. But if he was not required to follow his own rule, then he would be pressing an unfair advantage, making him no better than Seichi.

Soon, the next day came, the day when Kaitou and his friends would seek out the psychic Genkai. For the second time in his life, Kaitou ditched school and took a bus to Kido and Yana's motel room. His friends were ready, carrying bags of clothes, snacks, and other things they would need.

Yana opened a map and showed Kaitou the path he had marked. "It takes us pretty far out of town," he said. "Genkai likes her privacy." He drew out a second map, this one of a forest. "This is the path through the forest to Genkai's compound. I'll be able to find the way."

The bus ride was uneventful; two hours of Yana gazing out the window, Kaitou obsessing over his word puzzles, and Kido fidgeting, desperately wanting something to do.

The bus ride ended at the edge of a thick forest. In the distance, the three boys could see a tall stony hill. "That hill was where Genkai would do her training," said Yana. "She would strap weights onto herself and climb it. My mother never did the physical stuff, though."

"You've gotta be exaggerating," said Kido. Yana shook his head.

"Well, which way is it?" Kaitou cut in.

"You're pretty impatient, pal," said Kido. "What's on your mind?"

"I've been wondering if I'm bound by my own rule, like you mentioned before," said Kaitou. "I think it's a safe assumption that this Genkai will know how to return a soul to its body. So, when we get to her place, I intend to violate my own rule and remove my own soul."

"What?" exclaimed Yana. "That's insane!"

"I have to understand every aspect of my new ability," answered Kaitou. "This is a necessary test. I need to know."

Yana led his friends down the proper trail, knowing each turn and fork perfectly, rarely glancing at the map. As he was exposed to this "familiar" place, more of his mother's memories fell into place and became clear. 'This must be what it's like to recover from amnesia,' he thought.

"My mother could sense apparitions ever since her childhood," Yana told his friends. "She developed an interest in the paranormal and soon learned about Genkai. She came here, hoping that Genkai could help her learn more about her abilities. Genkai gave her a choice. She could either train my mother and help her develop her powers or shut her powers down so she wouldn't see the apparitions anymore. My mother decided to train with Genkai because she wanted to know more about her abilities. She saw things she wishes she hadn't and left Genkai before her training was complete. She regrets it, even today."

"Curiosity killed the cat, huh?" said Kido.

"Then it's a good way to die," answered Kaitou. "Nothing good can come from ignorance."

"She shouldn't have done it. Because of her curiosity, she has to see those terrible things every day now," said Yana.

"She should have completed her training and learned to cope with her abilities. If we keep running away from new knowledge, we'd might as well be living in the feudal era."

"Your curiosity could kill you too," said Kido. "Are you really going to remove your own soul?"

"I'd rather do it near Genkai, who can put it back, than have it happen accidentally when I'm on my own."

They continued hiking. Yana finally brought them to a high staircase leading up to the tall wooden door of a large walled compound. Hanging by strings over the staircase were talisman cards so strong that even the three inexperienced psychics could sense their power.

Kido pointed at the cards. "Do those make you feel sort of, I dunno, uncomfortable?" Yana nodded.

"Yes, they do," said Kaitou. "But the writings on them indicate that they're meant for warding away various demons. I don't see a single one meant to ward off humans."

"Hello!" called a female voice from the top of the stairs. The three boys saw the figure of a tall, young woman descending the stairway to greet them.

"Yana, is that Genkai?" whispered Kido.

"Nope, not unless she has a shapeshifting power she never told my mother about," answered Yana. His friends could not tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

Kaitou held up his hand in greeting. "Hello. What brings you here?"

"I'm looking for someone named Genkai," said the girl. Upon closer inspection, the boys could see her short brown hair, violet eyes, and her soft, gentle face.

"What a coincidence. So are we," said Kido, deciding not to mention the powers he and his friends had acquired. At least, not before she revealed she had developed a power. "Why are you looking for her?"

The girl kept her eyes towards the ground. "You'll probably think it's weird."

"Trust me," said Yana. "We won't."

"Well, I found that I can do something unusual. I can read people's emotions and I can even read their more emotional memories. I learned about Genkai from a creepy wannabe psychic guy I know."

"Do you know of anyone else who got these powers?" asked Kaitou. "The three of us have been friends for a long time and it's a strange coincidence that all three of us developed these abilities. Did anyone close to you get any powers?"

"Well…" she seemed uncertain to answer.

"Go, on," said Yana. "You're among friends."

"I think my brother has a new power. I don't know what it is, though. All I could read from his memories was an amazement at discovering something new about himself and this terrible hatred for…for everyone and everything. He disappeared a few days ago."

"That's too bad," said Kido, not knowing what else to say. "Well, I'm Asato Kido. These are Mitsunari Yanagisawa and Yuu Kaitou. What's your name?"

The girl smiled, comforted by the boys' friendliness. "Sumiko Hagiri."


	5. Genkai

Genkai walked briskly down the forest path to her home. She felt as if that Tournament had been the most difficult battle of her life. 'That dimwit apprentice of mine brought me back. What's the point if I'm just going to die in a few years?' Genkai had always believed that death was a natural part of life that one should never run away from. Her fight with Toguro had only strengthened that belief. Though she disagreed in principle with Team Urameshi's wish, there was a part of her that was touched by the love they had shown her.

"Kaitou! What do you think you're doing?" Genkai heard a boy's voice shouting in the distance.

"I have to know what'll happen, Kido!"

"At least wait for Genkai to get here," said another voice.

"It's been three days, Yana. I can't keep obsessing over this question."

"Yuu, wait!" said a girl's voice. "This is insane!"

Suddenly, Genkai felt a surge of energy. She rarely ever felt something like this, but she recognized it immediately. A soul was being expelled from its body. Without hesitation, she darted at full speed towards the source of the energy, which was near the entrance to her compound.

'They're channeling demon energy,' Genkai thought to herself. 'But their life energy is definitely human. Who are these people?'

She arrived at the entrance of her compound to find three young boys and a girl that was a few years older. The orb of a human soul hovered over the petrified body of one of the boys.

"Genkai!" exclaimed the boy with tall purple hair, as if he had known her all his life.

"Who are you people?" Genkai demanded. "And why have you come to my home?"

"Our stupid friend needs your help," said the blond boy. "Dumbass was crazy enough to remove his own soul!"

Genkai relaxed her body. She did not trust these people, but if they were demons, then they were about as powerful as cockroaches. Approaching the petrified boy, she performed the necessary movements to channel her spirit energy. With a final shout and a burst of light, the soul sank back into its body.

The boy sat up and adjusted his glasses. Staring intently at her, he said, "You must be Genkai."

"Yeah, I must be," she replied. "Well, I can see you kids have a trickle of power in you, so I might as well let you in. Come on." She pushed open the door to her compound.

Later, the four psychics sat around a table with Genkai, drinking the tea that she had provided. Genkai looked up from her cup. "So, the four of you woke up one day and found out you had psychic powers? That's odd. Normally, people would have to train years before they could remove a soul from a body." She looked at Yana. "So, Mr. Hair Gel, how do you know who I am?"

"My name's Mitsunari Yanagisawa. I'm Naoko Yanagisawa's son. My power allowed me to copy my mother's appearance, abilities, and memories. From her memories I learned about you and thought that you would be able to tell us about our powers."

"Your mother had incredible spiritual awareness, Mitsunari. I've only met one person who could surpass her. But she never realized her full potential. If she had, the things she must be seeing now would be clearly defined. Instead, they must be vague and shadowy, making them even more frightening."

"H-how do you know about those things?" asked Yana.

"Someone with your mother's abilities couldn't help but notice what's going on in Mushiori City."

"What are they?" asked Yana.

"Your mother knows the answer. You tell me," said Genkai with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Yana put his forehead into his hand and began sifting through all of Naoko's memories. What was she thinking when she saw the things? "Demons! They're low-level demons."

"That's right. The levels of demon energy in Mushiori City have increased greatly. Demon insects are already swarming everywhere. This is happening in other places in the area, but Mushiori's definitely the worst.

"The rise in demon energy is most likely the reason you've developed these powers," Genkai continued.

"What?" exclaimed Kido, standing up.

"Master Genkai," said Kaitou, "are you saying that our powers are demonic in nature?"

"Pretty much. Yeah."

"No way!" shouted Kido. "I'll never turn into some human-eating freak like Goki!" He slammed his fist into a table.

"Please calm down," said Sumiko. She lay a hand on Kido's arm as she activated her power. Her hand glowed briefly with a pink light as she felt what Kido was feeling. "You're appalled at what Goki has done and I know that you despise having anything that connects you to demons. Your powers might be demonic but your mind, body, and soul are completely human."

"You've met a demon, have you Asato?" asked Genkai.

Kido nodded. His face shot up as he said, "How do you know my name? Can you read minds?"

Genkai snorted. "No, I can't read minds, but I can read newspapers." She tossed the paper onto the table. "You're on the front page."

**MUSHIORI TEEN KIDNAPPED**

_Asato Kido, 15, disappeared from his home in Mushiori City last Monday night. Authorities say that broken windows and doors suggest a kidnapping, though no suspects have been named. When asked for comments, Asato's father, who had been at a bar during the kidnapping, threw beer bottles at the reporters and demanded that they get out of his home or he would set a pink elephant on them. Needless to say, Mr. Kido made these statements under the influence of alcohol._

"Doesn't it say anything about a dead body? A guy who died of suffocation?" asked Kido. Genkai shook her head. "Then Goki's still out there!" Kido cried out fearfully.

"Calm down, kid," said Genkai. She took another sip of her tea. "Goki," she said softly to herself. "Is he a Kyuukonki?"

"Yeah. How do you know?"

"My apprentice Yusuke fought a demon by that name. And while we're on the subject…" Genkai glanced at Kaitou. "Not many schools would have a pink boys' uniform. Do you know a guy named Shuichi Minamino?"

"Minamino?" gasped Kaitou.

"Yeah. Red hair, green eyes. If you don't know him well, you might have confused him for a girl."

"I wouldn't mistake him for a girl," said Kaitou. "Neither have most of the girls in my class."

"So you do know him."

"Kaitou's test scores are always second to his," said Yana. "He's not too happy about it." Yana's chuckle was cut short by the Heero Yuy Death Glare, which Kaitou had perfected after hours of watching anime.

Kaitou looked towards the ceiling. 'So Shuichi's got some secrets, huh?' "How do you know Shuichi?"

"I've fought alongside him. I don't think he'd appreciate me telling his secrets to his school rival, but I will tell you, he's pretty damn tough."

**XXXXX**

This chapter's not so great. Too much dialogue and not enough action for my taste, but I needed it to set up for the rest of the story. And as for my comment about Sensui's Seven, I'm kind of taking it back. They might have some influence on the story, but I don't think I'll give them any central roles. I'll just have to wait and see how the story turns out. Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review.

DXM


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